The whole idea is to better manage food recalls, farm to fork and back, and also to tackle the intricate issue of food fraud, which is receiving an increasing amount of attention.

Meanwhile, many others are wondering if the investment is worth it. Consumers tend to want many things from the food industry without paying for them.

The power of blockchain

Blockchain is about data, but it is mostly about accountability through enhanced digitalized transparency. With blockchain everyone knows what’s happening all at once.

To use a simple analogy, think of blockchain as a hockey rink. All the data is on the ice, protected by the boards so that it can’t be altered. Everyone participating in a blockchain is in the stands. The activity on the ice lets everyone else know who is buying from whom, when, at what price and volumes.

As a result, a recalled product can be traced back in seconds instead of taking days. It took investigators days to trace the source of an E. coli outbreak to contaminated romaine lettuce. They had to look through documents to find the source and the potential causes, all the way up the food chain. It would have been managed quite differently with blockchain.

Food safety is an obvious driver for blockchain, but food fraud appears to be what is moving the blockchain agenda much faster these days.

Why pay extra?

Blockchain technologies have been used in other sectors, but they have only recently entered the food sector.

In this June 7, 2011 photo, an employee throws away tomatoes in Werder, Germany, during an E. coli outbreak. Authorities had trouble identifying the source of the outbreak, causing major losses for farmers in the European Union.(AP Photo/dapd/ Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert, File)

Food safety was never going to be enough for consumers to embrace blockchain. Consumers expect safety and don’t want to pay more for it. Why pay extra for a safety belt when buying a car? Food safety may have never had market currency, but food authenticity does.

Fraudulent products can compromise brands and the viability of a company in a heartbeat. We have seen many cases already around the world.

Economically motivated adulteration is a growth killer, something Walmart and Carrefour both know. To increase sales, companies must eliminate fraudulent food products from their shelves, and blockchain technologies can provide the perfect antidote.

Jumping on the blockchain bandwagon

How better to deal with food fraud than by making the whole system more transparent?

If food fraud is properly addressed, growth in the food sector can be expanded. Over the next decade or so, we should not be surprised to see the disruptive nature of blockchain technologies generate tensions among grocers, processors and producers as they try to cope with grocers’ impositions.

Over the summer, I was able to think about my career, my family, and on the future of our Faculty. As most of you know that I am truly passionate about research in the broad area of food distribution and policy. Therefore, I have notified the university that I will be stepping down as Dean, effective September 1, 2018. Over the next few months, with the support of the university, I plan to devote a great deal of my time to preparing a proposal for a new Institute in Agri-food analytics, with partners on campus and across the country. I will have an office in both Halifax and Truro, starting in September.

I will truly miss serving our Faculty, staff and students. Over the past two years, we have accomplished great things together. Last year was one of the strongest fundraising years on record, with a total of $3.5 million in new commitments (including $450K in annual giving, another near-record).

I am also so proud that we have: launched CDL-Atlantic, gained Senate approval for an MSc program to enhance the Rowe School of Business’s research activity, proposed a significant revision of the MBA, changed the purpose of CEGE/CFAME and gave academic authority of graduate programs back to schools, renewed our Faculty complement in both the School for Resources and Environmental Studies (SRES) and the School of Public Administration (SPA), we partnered with the NSCC on a 2+2 agreement for our BMGT program which has seen accepted offers increase by 34% this year, supported the university in centralizing its entrepreneurship and innovation efforts, and the list goes on.

I am also proud of a few other accomplishments. As mentioned before, we recently learned that the Faculty of Management was granted its first SSHRC Canada Research Chair Tier I ($1.4m over 7 years), in renewable energy/clean tech. The CRC will be housed in SRES. The search is ongoing. This is a significant step forward for our Faculty. Our PhD proposal in resources and sustainability is also moving along the approval process. Several Faculties, including Science, Architecture and Agriculture have provided us with their support for the program.

We are also working with Computer Science and our other partner Faculties, Law, and Medicine to revamp the Masters in Electronic Commerce. Its new name (Master of Digital Innovation) and concept paper, was reviewed and supported by the Provost recently. These changes were long overdue.

The CDL-Atlantic has allowed 12 scalable start-ups to complete the program in Halifax and will continue their journey. It will be exciting to see our second cohort perform this Fall. Many of these businesses will resume their activities in our region, which is wonderful for our economy.

We also gave inaugural staff awards to recognize the work and dedication of our staff members, which was one of the highlights of my Deanship. They do so much for us.

I believe our Faculty and University can achieve great things together. As a faculty member, I will continue to work to ensure Dalhousie and our Faculty continues to prosper in its third century of existence.

I would remiss if I did not thank my crew in the Dean’s Office: Janet, Vivian, Mike, Dominika, Louis, Anna, Marianne, Nicole, Sue and Jen and a few others who have since left the university. They have been a wonderful support throughout. Also, my directors over the past two years, Michelle, Peter T., Peter D., Bob, Lori, Sandra, Benoît, Jeff, Robert, Florence, Martine and Mary, all have been incredibly helpful and resourceful. Our Advisory Board members, led by Doug Reid, have also been a great support over the past two years. Louise, our Secretary at Faculty Council has done a great job keeping our group productive and disciplined, thank you Louise. As Chair of Governing Council, I also want to acknowledge Kevin Quigley’s outstanding work as Director of the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance. It was a pleasure to work with Kevin over the last few years.

And finally, the students. Our students at Dalhousie and in our Faculty are amazing citizens and I hope to continue to achieve great things with them over the next few years.